Telegraph:
Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0, League Cup semi-final first leg: VAR in the spotlight in London derby stalemate
Jason Burt
The ‘VAR’ was used but this was more a ‘Very Average Response’ as Chelsea and Arsenal played out a goalless stalemate in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
The Video Assistant Referee was called upon, to help adjudicate on two penalties claims, one for each side, and it was correct that neither was given even if the sight of the official Martin Atkinson pressing his finger to his ear added to the fans’ confused frustration.
Instead it was an encounter which also left Arsenal supporters wondering if Alexis Sanchez will be at the club for the second leg, in a fortnight’s time, after he started on the substitutes’ bench and with a January move to Manchester City appearing increasingly likely.
Arsene Wenger later denied that was the case while confirming that Jack Wilshere, his captain for the night, had suffered yet another injury to add to Arsenal’s worrying roll call of absentees. However the midfielder’s apparent ankle strain, received in blocking a shot, should not keep him out too long. It is hoped.
Wenger watched the match from the press box – serving the second game of his three-fixture ban – and was, frankly, more entertaining that what happened out on the pitch, at times. It was a close-by study for reporters on the agonies that a manager goes through as he slammed his desk, kicked the seat in front of him and failed to stifle the odd shout over decisions or his players not being in position even if he was 25 yards away.
By the end Arsenal commendably kept Chelsea at bay and there was also a sense that there is too much of a familiarity about these two teams now. This was their fourth meeting of the season, their fourth draw, but this was a far cry from the thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates last week.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte marched onto the pitch to speak to Atkinson at the final whistle – having drawn an imaginary ‘TV’ with his hands, presumably calling for another video referral – but later said he had only questioned an offside call.
There were chances. But, crucially, both Chelsea and Arsenal are carrying strikers at present who are suffering from a lack of confidence which was evidenced in the opening two minutes when Alvaro Morata was put through by Eden Hazard only to snatch at the chance and prod the ball into the side-netting.
Then, with Arsenal’s first, and best, opening, superbly fashioned by Wilshere, who was their most positive, influential player, as he lifted the ball through, Alexandre Lacazette had the chance to run at goal but slashed wildly at his shot from just inside the penalty area and struck it high over the cross-bar. He had to do better.
Arsenal will, of course, come away the happier and rightly so. It is all to play for but they are at home and after going out of the FA Cup so pitifully last Sunday, away to Nottingham Forest, this was a performance that showed the resolve and determination they so sorely lacked.
It was a different XI, also, although Alex Iwobi – accused of partying late too close to the Forest game – surprisingly kept his place while Sanchez, expected to start, was benched before he came on in the second-half but to little effect.
Chelsea will feel they created enough opportunities to have won, maybe even to have put this tie to bed, but it is three draws in a row for them in all competitions and further evidence as to why they are looking for another striker during this window with Morata needing a rest, and back-up, and little faith in Michy Batshuayi who also came on as a late substitute and headed over the one opening that came his way. Neither could Conte turn to new signing, Ross Barkley, who was not deemed fit enough.
Chelsea struck the post in the first-half, from a Victor Moses shot, although goalkeeper David Ospina will have felt he had it covered, and did so again late on when Cesc Fabregas’s cross was deflected onto the outside of the goal-frame.
The first penalty claim came when Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois beat out Iwobi’s powerful shot, after a mistake by Antonio Rudiger who unwisely tried to pass the ball out of his own area to Danny Drinkwater only for it to be intercepted. The rebound fell to Ainsley Maitland-Niles and he attempted to burst past Moses, going down.
There were chants of “VAR” from the Arsenal fans but the penalty appeal was rejected after Atkinson clearly – with his hand to his ear – consulted with Neil Swarbrick, the official back at the television headquarters.
In the second-half Chelsea laid siege.
Marcos Alonso flicked on a cross to Andreas Christensen who headed over, at full stretch, from a couple of yards out. He should have scored. The ball bounced off Morata at close-range from another corner before the striker ran at goal and struck a powerful 25-yard shot that Ospina turned away. Then Morata hit the side-netting again as the goalkeeper rushed out.
It continued. Mustafi cut out Moses’ goal-bound shot for a corner, Christensen headed wastefully wide once more, Hazard elected to pass when he had to shoot and then Chelsea questioned whether they should have had a penalty as Fabregas went over under Danny Welbeck’s challenge and again Atkinson delayed, pressing his hand to his ear, but again it was not given.
It remains on the edge.
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Mail :
Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal: Jack Wilshere limps off injured but Gunners hold firm to keep Carabao Cup semi-final in the balance after first leg at Stamford Bridge
By Martin Samuel for the Daily Mail
By the time this tie is decided, Arsene Wenger will be back where he belongs. This cannot have been the most comfortable evening for him, hustled into the press box, flanked by minders, courtesy of his touchline ban.
Wenger is so experienced at being barred from the dug-out that he even knows his preferred view from the naughty chair here.
He didn't like the second tier last time — too complicated getting down to the dressing rooms. Told the proximity of the team area to the press box, he opted for that instead, taking his place alongside people who had variously told him to quit, stand down or that his era at Arsenal had run its course.
A goalless draw at Chelsea was not the most defiant riposte, but nor was it the white flag some had expected when Arsenal's best player, Alexis Sanchez, was named on the substitutes' bench.
The sight of Chelsea's creative heart, Eden Hazard, being replaced by Tiemoue Bakayoko with 10 minutes to go including stoppage time was therefore a victory of sorts for Wenger; a concession by Antonio Conte that Plan A had failed.
Indeed, while Chelsea had the better chances and the best of the play, this felt like a more pleasing night for Arsenal. Some of the scorelines between these teams in recent years — Chelsea 6 Arsenal 0, Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3, Arsenal 1 Chelsea 4 — would have negated the worth of a second leg. Instead, going level to a rematch at the Emirates, Arsenal are right in this.
Much will depend, of course, on the team Wenger is able to field. Will Sanchez be in the pale blue of Manchester City by then; will Jack Wilshere be fit having left the field injured after 57 minutes here?
He walked off, which we might take as a good sign had Wilshere not once announced he was fine after completing 59 minutes of an England friendly against Denmark, only to discover he had a fractured left foot. You never know with him.
Here, he suffered a problem with his left ankle after blocking a cross from Danny Drinkwater. He had treatment, tried to continue, sat down on the pitch, walked off.
The Chelsea supporters jeered him, heartlessly and with scant concern for the bigger picture. Wilshere had just been getting into his stride again and that is good for England, as well as the player and Arsenal.
He was excellent in the first half, and few of his countrymen can play with his vision and speed of thought in midfield. He was a step above his opposite number Drinkwater, who was withdrawn soon after, too, but for different reasons.
Chelsea had the best of it, not least in the second half when they came out with renewed purpose. Andreas Christensen should have scored with a free header at the far post, after David Ospina had come for the ball and found his way blocked, while Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso came close with shots. The fact remains, though, this was a good result for Arsenal.
Perhaps it would do a number of managers good to observe a game from the press box, if only to dispel a few myths about their character. You know how we imagine Wenger has this benign, rose-tinted view of his players? Nothing they do is wrong, it's always the fault of the referee? It isn't like that.
The first shows of emotion — palms slammed down on the blue table, a whack on the metal bar that houses the strip lighting — were invariably in reaction to mistakes by Arsenal. A tame, short free-kick when something more imaginative was called for; some sleepy defending.
Later, he warmed to a familiar theme with cries of 'What?' every time Alvaro Morata or Hazard went down. Those seated in front of him reported the sort of kicking to the framework of the seats that Tony Adams and Steve Bould meted out to strikers, certainly once Wenger noticed he could see every incident replayed on the press-seat television monitors.
For a while, the Chelsea fans forgot his presence, too. When they remembered they mocked him. 'Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay,' they chorused, trying to get a glimmer of recognition or reaction. Neither came. What did they expect, these noisy boys? Do they think somebody who has taken charge of more Premier League games than every other manager in the top flight put together gets distracted by a bit of shouting?
Wenger stayed laser-focused throughout. The intensity with which he studied the game was almost startling. He will never be able to use that excuse about not having seen a controversial incident again, though. He plainly does not miss a thing, the crafty sod.
Not that there was too much to absorb in comparison to the last meeting of these teams. That was a metaphorical roller-coaster ride, a 2-2 draw that could have seen 10 goals shared.
Here, chances were limited. In the second minute, Hazard found Morata, who ran out of pitch and hit the side-netting.
From there it was 20 minutes before either side mustered a shot at goal — an underwhelming effort from another big-ticket signing. Wilshere put Alexandre Lacazette through but his shot was hopeless — rash, wild and high. The opposite of what Wenger, or any manager, would have wanted from a marksman.
Chelsea dominated from there, with Moses shooting on sight around Ospina. He came close twice and Christensen should have done better with two headers.
This was another match with the safety net of the video referee but its worth came largely in confirming what had not happened, rather than what had.
So, a tussle between Calum Chambers and Cesar Azpilicueta, which ended with the Chelsea man on the turf while waiting for an Arsenal corner, was judged worthy of a conversation with the pair, no more. And Ainsley Maitland-Niles's fall after a challenge by Moses was viewed as the result of evasive action rather than contact.
Then, with two minutes to go, Cesc Fabregas fell under pressure from Danny Welbeck. Play continued, the ball went out for a corner, then Martin Atkinson delayed delivery. Clearly, he was getting a steer remotely. The fans waited in anticipation. Wenger looked on intently but without emotion.
His monitor had told him long ago that Welbeck got a touch on the ball. As Atkinson was also informed, eventually. Handy place to be sometimes, the press box.
Chelsea starting XI: Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 6, Christensen 6, Rudiger 6.5; Moses 6.5, Kante 7, Fabregas 7, Drinkwater 6 (Willian 68, 6), Alonso 6.5; Hazard 7.5 (Bakayoko 84), Morata 6.5 (Batshuayi 87)
Subs not used: Eduardo, Luiz, Zappacosta, Pedro
Booked: Kante
Goals: n/a
Manager: Conte 6.5
Arsenal starting XI: Ospina 6; Chambers 6, Mustafi 6.5, Holding 6; Wilshere 7 (Elneny 57, 6), Xhaka 5.5; Bellerin 6, Maitland-Niles 5.5; Iwobi 5.5, Welbeck 7; Lacazette 5.5 (Sanchez 66, 6)
Subs not used: Macey, Mavropanos, Mertesacker, Nelson, Walcott
Booked: Xhaka, Elneny
Goals: n/a
Manager: Wenger 7
Ref: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 40,097
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